


Somewhere Out There

by SpringZero123



Series: Spring Writes Stuff [7]
Category: Coraline (2009), Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), Missing Link (2019), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25014637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpringZero123/pseuds/SpringZero123
Summary: This has got to be one of the best short High School AU story that i have ever written in my entire life. God im so happy and proud of myself uwu. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it! :)
Relationships: Coraline Jones/Wybie Lovat, Eggs (The Boxtrolls)/Winifred Portley-Rind, Kubo (Kubo and the Two Strings)/Agatha Prenderghast
Series: Spring Writes Stuff [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784281
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	Somewhere Out There

**Author's Note:**

> This has got to be one of the best short High School AU story that i have ever written in my entire life. God im so happy and proud of myself uwu. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it! :)

"Good job boys," Mrs. Henscher told the four young boys, as the school bell rang loudly inside the small room. 

They were rehearsing for a short performance around next week, and since their band's instructor the drama teacher of their batch, having their band practice at school wasn't a big issue for them.

"You four should get to your classes before it's too late," Mrs. Henscher reminded them, as the four exited their rehersal room. 

"Thank you Mrs. Henscher!" The four simultaneously greeted, before Kubo closed the door as the last one to exit the room.

"Damn, I have History class next. You guys think the two girls already went to their next class?" Eggs asked, as all of them took a right. 

"Yeah bro, I mean, I did tell Cora that I won't be able to join her for lunch, I hope she doesn't get mad at me like last time," Wybie answered with a small whimper, making the three boys slightly laugh at his fear of his own girlfriend.

"Well, me and Kubo have Maths next. You two run along now," Norman told the other two, as Kubo chuckled at them, saluting to their two friends before they separated ways to their classes.

After Wybie and Eggs were far enough away from them, Kubo sighed tiredly. "Maths," he whispered fearfully, shivering from the inside as Norman patted his shoulder in comfort. 

"Right dude, today's the day for the announcement of results on that life threatening Math Quiz we took yesterday..." Norman trailed off, as the two looked at each other fearfully before entering the room.

Thankfully, Sir Lionel Frost ain't in the room yet, marking the two boys safe from Mr. Frost's wrath. They always feared the tall man.

"Ooh, looks who's here, the two band weirdos," Alvin mocked as they entered the room, making the two boys roll their eyes at him tiredly as they made their way to their seats.

Sir Lionel Frost suddenly entered the room in his strict posture, making everyone silent almost immediately as they all took their seats. 

"How's it going class?" Sir Lionel asked loudly in a rather gleeful tone he uses when their class had finished an important quiz such as this one, as he held their test papers on his arm. 

Everyone is just looking at him fearfully and silently, as he stacked the papers neatly in his hands before sitting on his chair in front of the class.

Kubo and Norman had looked at each other worriedly, since the day they took the exam was rather a messy day for not only the two of them, but for Wybie and Eggs as well.

And the way that Sir Lionel constructs his tests are not very easy to answer too, making them even more nervous.

"Alright, when I call your name please walk in front as I give you your test paper. Take note that these test papers are not in the order of whoever got the highest or lowest in this class." Well, that announcement didn't make things feel any better.

"First off, Alvin Mintz-Plasse," Mr. Frost called out, as the school bully stood up from his seat casually with a scoff, making his way towards the teacher with a smug expression on his face.

"So sir, I passed didn't I?" Alvin asked Sir Lionel confidently as he received his paper, before Sir Lionel laughed at him. 

"I didn't even know how many times I laughed at your test paper!" Sir Lionel teased, as Alvin looked at his paper with a raised eyebrow.

Alvin's immediate frown when he saw his test paper made the whole class laugh at him. 

"Norman Babcock in front please," Sir Lionel announced, as Kubo stared at Norman nervously. 

"Good luck bro," Kubo said, as Norman gulped down the knot in his throat before standing up from his seat, making his way towards his teacher.

As Norman stood beside Sir Lionel, the math teacher can't help but notice Norman's nervousness. 

"Don't worry band boy, you lived," Sir Lionel said simply, handing the test paper over to Norman. 

Norman carefully reached out for his test paper, as he slowly peeked on his score, making everyone laugh silently at him. 

"Salma Ramsey next please."

"Dude, did you pass?" Kubo asked immediately as Norman walked back to his seat, staring at his test paper in shock. 

Norman turned his head towards Kubo, before grinning smugly to him, showing Kubo his test paper. "My score is barely breathing bro, but it's still alive," Norman joked playfully, as Kubo's eye widened in shock.

"You lucky son of a gun," Kubo joked back, shaking his head as he returned Norman's test paper.

"Agatha Prenderghast."

"Oh come on, you don't even need to look at the weird nerd's test paper to know that she passed," Alvin teased, as Agatha rolled her eyes at him before walking towards Sir Lionel.

"Detention for you, Mr. Alvin," Sir Lionel announced before giving Agatha's test to her, as the whole class "ooh"ed at the bully silently.

Agatha raised her eyebrow at her test paper, scanning it thoroughly as the whole class looked at her silently.

Not a minute after she placed her test paper down beside Sir Lionel, asking him some questions as she pointed at her test paper. 

Sir Lionel rubbed his chin with a raised eyebrow, nodding his head as Agatha justified her answer to him.

"Wow, I've never thought of the solution you did, remarkable performance Ms. Prenderghast," Sir Lionel said with a proud smirk, grabbing the red pen from beside his teacher's table, before remarking her test paper that made everyone gasp.

Agatha smirked to herself, as Sir Lionel gave her test paper back before walking back to her seat.

"Hang on, hang on, isn't Agatha your cousin?" Kubo asked Norman, as his friend nodded to him smugly. 

"Kubo Parkinson in front please."

"Good luck brother," Norman whispered before patting his shoulder lightly as a sign of encouragement for his friend.

Kubo nodded to him, making his way towards Sir Lionel nervously. As soon as Kubo stood beside Sir Lionel, the teacher sighed. 

"Mr. Parkinson, I need a word with you after class," Sir Lionel whispered to him before giving him his test paper. 

Kubo sighed tiredly, not even bothering to look at his test paper as he walked back towards his seat with a small frown. 

Norman looked at him with a concerned expression on his face. "Hey bro, is everything okay?"

Not only does Norman know, but also Eggs and Wybie knows that Kubo is having a bit of a struggle when it comes to his Math skills because of the band. 

Kubo slumped down his seat, sighing tiredly. "Sir Lionel just told me that he wanted to talk to me after class, what do you think?"

"Damn bro, hope it's not about anything too serious..." Norman trailed off.

• • •

"Kubo, I'm concerned for your Math grades. If you fail the next quiz, and all the other make up quizzes because of this recent fail, your Math grade will stay a failing grade forever," Sir Lionel had told Kubo with a frown on his face. 

The young boy sighed tiredly, looking down at the ground with his hand rubbing the back of his neck shyly. "I'm sorry Sir, I swear I'll try my best next time."

"Don't try, you have to give it your best or else you won't be saying hello to another year!" And with that, Sir Lionel had walked away from Kubo, making him sigh tiredly.

"Hey bro," Eggs had greeted gently beside him, as Wybie and Norman stood in front of him with sad smiles on their faces. "How much did you hear?" Kubo asked.

"Not a whole lot bro, we just arrived actually," Wybie responded. "Sorry for that dude," Norman piped in, making Kubo raise an eyebrow. 

"What? Why?" Kubo asked.

"About the score you got on the quiz..." Norman trailed off with a frown.

"Bro, none of that was your fault, it's all mine," Kubo told them sadly, making him sigh heavily once again.

"I mean, if you're having trouble bro, you could always ask Cora for help," Wybie offered with a small smile.

"Yeah, or I can ask Winnie to help you anytime!" Eggs offered as well, making Kubo smile at them. 

"Thanks you guys, but I don't want to drag them both away from you two because of me..." Kubo refused the offers politely with a small shrug.

"Yeah Kubo has a point, considering how you two act when you get jealous," Norman teased with a small chuckle, as all of them nod to each other in agreement.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys later," Kubo told them sadly, walking past Norman and Wybie with a heavy sigh.

"Dudes, what should we do?" Eggs asked Norman and Wybie as the three of them watch Kubo walk away from them sadly. 

Norman tapped on his chin lightly so he can think, and then suddenly an idea came into his mind.

"I think I have a plan."

• • •

"Wait, are you serious about this?" Kubo asked Norman with a worried expression on his face, as Norman continued to drag his friend with him. 

"Trust me bro, she agreed to do this," Norman reassured his friend, as it's Kubo's turn to roll his eyes at him.

They arrived at the oldest tree on the school grounds, where a girl with long black hair sat on the ground peacefully. Oh no, this ain't some ordinary girl.

This is Agatha Prenderghast, the smartest kid in their Maths class.

"Hey Aggs!" Norman greeted, as the girl turned her head to look at them two, with an annoyed expression on her face. "Ugh Norman, what's-"

As soon as her eyes landed on Kubo, she raised an eyebrow as he looked shyly at her. 

"Um... hi?" Agatha tried to greet him in the most polite way possible, but her tone basically made Kubo flinch in an instant.

"Don't tell me you're cheating on Neil cousin," Agatha teased with a roll of her eyes, as Norman and Kubo gasped. "What!?" They both shouted.

"No, why the hell would I do that? Look sis, my bro Kubo needs help, you know, the one I told you this morning?" Norman reminded her.

"Oh, this is the Math idiot," she breathed out, as Kubo flinched at the words she used to describe him.

"Aggs, we talked about this. Please?" Norman asked, as she finally sighed and gestured her head to the side.

"Fine. Sit here."

"Beside you?" Kubo asked her fearfully, as Agatha slapped her forehead with an annoyed groan.

"Don't worry Kubo, she won't bite... hopefully..." Norman whispered, as Kubo slowly made his way towards Agatha, and carefully sat beside her before laying his bag beside him.

"Norman, we made a deal," Agatha pointed at her cousin, making Norman nod at her, before giving Kubo two thumbs up as he walked away from the two of them.

"What exactly is your deal... If I'm allowed to know?" Kubo asked her lightly, as she rolled her eyes at him while shaking her head. 

"Norman agreed that if I help you with your Math, then he'll do all of my homeworks for all of my subjects."

"Legit!?"

"I guess he loves you too much, or more accurately he doesn't want to lose a friend such as you," Agatha teased him with a small smirk, as Kubo frowned lightly at that thought.

Which reminds him, no one knows that if he fails at his Maths, then he is done for other than his close friends. "You know about the failing grades scenario?"

"Norman told me everything, so yeah. Sucks to be you," she shrugged.

Agatha raised an eyebrow at him, before grabbing her notebook from the bag beside her. "Alright enough chat, let's start with that new lesson Sir Lionel told us about earlier..."

• • •

"So wait, you're saying that I've been doing this whole formula the opposite way that it was meant to be done?" Kubo asked her with a shocked voice, looking at her notebook with a confused look on his face.

Agatha shrugged lightly, puckering her lips. "Unfortunately yes. No wonder you failed the last quiz-"

"Hey Kubo! You're going to be late for band practice!" Eggs shouted from the distance, making Kubo and Agatha look at him with knitted eyebrows.

"Holy cripes time flies fast..." Kubo muttered under his breath, turning his head to Agatha before giving her a shy smile.

"Well, I guess that ends this session then," he told her with a small chuckle, bringing up a hand behind his neck, making her roll her eyes at him.

"I'm warning you, if you don't get a grip with this band practice schedule thing, you're not going to understand anything that I teach you. Make your choice, your grades or your band..." Agatha trailed off with a low voice, glaring at him.

His eye is travelling between her and Eggs, both are making him choose. "Kubo!" Eggs shouted again, making Kubo shake his head and look at Agatha with a frown.

"Look, I'm sorry, but can we talk about all this later? Our performance is only a few days away," Kubo said with a heavy sigh, before getting his bag from beside him as he stood up, making Agatha groan tiredly.

"Come on man!" 

"Sorry! We'll talk later! I promise!"

And with that, Kubo ran towards Eggs, leaving Agatha a frustrated mess under the old tree as she glared at them both from afar.

• • •

"So, what's your game plan? Since you basically left me hanging earlier today," Agatha scolded, as Kubo approached her sadly.

"Sorry for leaving you suddenly, I know that you'll be teaching me all about Math up until the start of December, so I'm basically just ruining your schedule..." He trailed off, avoiding her gaze as he looked towards the ground, making her frown at him.

A moment has passed between them, and when Kubo realized that he's leaving Agatha hanging again, he shook his head with a clear of his throat to get her attention.

"Oof okay, so apparently the half lunch break schedule per day is not working, so maybe we can go to my house after school every other day?"

Agatha gasped, her eyes widening in shock of his suggestion. "You're kidding, right?" She asked him, looking at him warily

"No, I'm just desperate." Now that made her raise her eyebrows at him, since his statement sounded a bit cheesy to her. 

Now she's having second doubts on wether this plan of Norman is to genuinely help Kubo, or he's just hooking up a friend with her. 

Maybe the one, or the other, or maybe both. Ugh. Boys.

As soon as Kubo realized that Agatha was disturbed by what he said, he shook his head, waving his hands frantically. "Desperate to pass my Math grade, I mean," he rephrased, smiling at her.

"Right... So, have you asked Norman about this whole idea of yours?" Agatha questioned him, raising an eyebrow, as Kubo nodded to her politely.

"Earlier yeah, he said it's fine as long as 'I kept my hands to myself', whatever that means," Kubo said while using his fingers to make the quotation marks, as Agatha had to cover her hand to prevent herself from laughing.

"Ahem, yeah I'm up for it."

"Great! My house is not that far from the school... Anyway, let's start next week, after the band's performance?" He asked her, giving her a small smirk as she rolled her eyes at him, but smiles lightly after a short moment.

"Whenever you're ready, band boy."

• • •

"Did you watch the performance earlier?" Kubo tried to engage to a conversation, as him and Agatha walked to his house, keeping a safe distance from each other.

She turned his head to take a glance at him, before looking in front of her again with a small shrug. "Um, no? I was at the library, keeping myself busy by studying..." Agatha trailed off, making him frown.

"Oh..." Why is it so hard to try and talk to her? Well, maybe she'll warm up to him even more when they start later. Of course, he's still slightly afraid of her, but he's slowly getting the hang of it.

As soon as they arrived at the house, Kubo opened the door for her, gesturing his head for her to come in. "Make yourself at home."

"Whoa," Agatha breathed out, as her eyes wandered around the room with her mouth slightly hung open, making Kubo smile lightly.

"You live here all by yourself?" She asked as her eyes landed on him. 

"Technically yes, but my grandparents are at the house next to this one with their maids, so I have this whole space all to myself," he explained slowly, closing the door behind him.

"So, where do we start?" Agatha asked, standing in front of him with crossed arms. "Definitely not in my room, that place is very messy," Kubo joked with a small chuckle, making her roll her eyes at him.

"Who ever said that I wanted to go to your room in the first place?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No one, and not a single soul should go there but me, myself, and I," he retorted, crossing his arms.

"That's highly concerning," Agatha stated, her brows knitting slightly, making him smirk at her. "Aww, you do care," Kubo flirted with a cute pout, tilting his head to the side.

Agatha scoffed, rolling her eyes at him. "Shut up, band boy," she scolded, making him raise an eyebrow at him. 

They continued to stare at each other for a short while, and when Agatha realized that they've been like that for far too long, she cleared her throat, as they both shook their heads roughly at the same time.

"Ahem. So, should we start over there?" She asked, pointing towards the sofa with a table in front of it, that is in front of the huge flat screen TV.

"Yeah sure," Kubo answered, giving her a sweet smile, making her shake her head at him.

• • •

A month had already passed, and somehow things are getting smoother between them, with Agatha being more comfortable around Kubo's house, and Kubo being more comfortable around Agatha in general.

He still fears the small human slightly because she can rip him to shreds whenever she wanted to do so. In order to not make her kill him, he stays obedient to her. 

Kubo's not usually this soft around people he's barely close with, but that's the whole point. Him and Agatha are starting to get closer and closer to each other, every second that passes.

It's kind of scary when he thinks about it, and nowadays he mostly wonders about what she's thinks about this whole thing between them, other than being nothing more than just friends.

"There, I think I got it right Aggie," he finally spoke up after a long while of solving the math problem given to him, as she smiled beside him proudly.

"You're slowly getting there band boy, good job."

"Thanks..."

There was a short moment of tense silence between them, with Kubo staring at the paper on the table in front of them to avoid Agatha's gaze on him.

She contemplated for a moment, before clearing her throat to get his attention, but he doesn't turn his head to her. His hearing attention is more than enough.

"So, if I'm allowed to ask since we still have spare time, why are you here all by yourself? Where are your parents?" Agatha asked him carefully, her brows knitting in concern.

Kubo sat silent beside her, not even bothering to turn his head to face her, before he smiles sadly to himself, lowering his head with a silent laugh.

Now she regretted asking him that sort of question. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"No, it's fine, it's just, I've never thought about it for a while now..." He cut off her apology, turning his head to face her with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What happened?"

Kubo contemplates for a while, wetting his lips as he tried to choose his words wisely in his mind.

"Our family history is kinda complicated, though I'm the youngest one left in our Japanese family," he started, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Wait, you're half Japanese?" Agatha asked him, making him smirk slightly. "Also half Irish, so that's cool I guess..." Kubo trailed off, before clearing his throat as he straightened up his posture.

"Anyway, my father died at a horrible freak accident the day I was born, and-" he had to stop himself if he wants to control his urge to shed a tear in front of a girl he barely knows.

But the way she looks at him, makes him feel like he can be as open as he wants around her. 

He trusts her in helping him with his grades, so he can trust her with some of his scars since they're seeing each other often enough to be comfortable around one another.

"My mother died at a car crash when me and her were on our way to the airport, thus damaging my other eye to the point where it had to be removed for good in order to save the other one," Kubo blurted out, moving some of his hair away from his face to show his left eye that is now covered in a black eye patch.

Agatha gasped, covering her mouth as she sat his eye patch with concern all over her face. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry to hear that." 

Kubo smiled at her sadly, shaking his head. "It's alright, I mean it's already been 5 months, but I'm doing pretty well with school."

"Wait, hang on, so you're saying that-"

He sighed heavily, cutting off hee sentence as he nodded silently to her. "Before school began, yes, me and my mom were supposed to move here, but we went through that car accident, and-" he can't control his voice cracking a bit, as he tries to hide the tear that had already fallen from his face.

This is why he avoids talking about his parents at all costs, but as far as friends go, Agatha so far is the only person who have learned how he got here.

He needs to let it out to someone close to him at some point, right?

His train of thought was interrupted, as two careful arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a hug.

As soon as he realized that the one hugging him is indeed Agatha, he gasped silently. "Aggie, w-what are you doing?"

"It looked like you needed one, so might as well give you one."

He didn't know how much he needed to hear those words from her, as he smiled widely even if she can't see it, giving back the hug. "Thank you."

When they finally broke their hug, Kubo awkwardly cleared his throat, smiling at her shyly, making her laugh. 

"Hey uh, since we're on the topic, mind if I ask how your parents are doing?"

Agatha's unexpected heavy sigh made him feel bad for asking her about it. "Unfortunately, I'm at the same boat as you are," she answered, frowning lightly.

"Oh shit, sorry for asking." She smiled at him sadly, looking at the floor below them, avoiding his gaze.

"It's fine. Besides, it all happened a long time ago, when my dad left me and my mom. I was still a baby at that time, and well, my mom didn't had enough money to raise me, so that's why I was brought to Norman's instead." At least she had a better familial ending than he did.

"Well, at least you still have Norman and their fam," he responded sadly, as Agatha turned her head to face him, letting their eyes meet.

And then, she smiled at him, placing her hand carefully on his shoulder. "Hey, don't be hard on yourself. You still have the band to look forward to..."

"Including me." She never expected that she would tell someone those words some day, but this is what Kubo needs to hear right now. 

Oddly enough, that pattern keeps happening to her lately, the urge to make him smile. "Huh, I guess we're not all that different, are we?"

Agatha smiled at him, nodding her head. "No, I suppose we aren't."

• • •

Another set of days had passed, and Kubo is only a few days away before he takes all his make up quizzes for all the fails he made, including the upcoming quiz.

And this will be the last day that Agatha would visit his house, as means of a last minute review before Doomsday Monday. Though, today is also a Saturday. 

For him, this day of the week is dedicated for his weekly talk with his parents through his house's Tamaya just beside the flat screen TV (since he forgot to do it earlier this morning because his grandparents bulldozed the start of his day with countless of errands).

But hey, having quality time with his mother even though she's not around anymore is still important to Kubo, no matter what time of the day it is.

He knelt in front of the Tamaya, clasping his hands together and smiled. "Hello mother, father, I hope everything's going well over there. School has been really great and stressful lately, but at least I've made a lot of friends along the way." 

He usually starts his small talk by updating them with the recent tea in life, like any other person who had lost someone as dear as their mother and father.

"Although I'm still going to take a handful of Math quizzes by Monday, but I've been getting help from Aggie, my friend's cousin." And now that he had thought about it, he now appreciates her company.

Kubo knows that his closest bros knows him very well, but he's pretty sure that Agatha knows him differently, since he'll tell her things about him that his bros don't know yet.

"She is a very kind person, even though sometimes she can be really scary," he chuckled to himself, before smiling back at the Tamaya.

"But my only wish right now, is to find any way to repay her for everything that she has done for me so far." And that thought alone made him smile to himself.

Even though they only meet every other day with 2-3 hours of non stop math discussion ahead of them, they also have enough time for just talking with one another. 

It seems like the both of them are curious about one another, and somehow Kubo finds it rather interesting. 

He often wonders what she's thinking right now, and he wonders if she does the same thing with him.

He glances at the clock above the Tamaya, and frowned to himself. 

"That's all the time I have unfortunately, Aggie's going to be here any moment. Again, thank you for all the guidance you have given me." And with that, he stood up from the ground and blew off the lit candle.

When he turned his body around, Agatha is already standing in front of him, making him shout like a girl in surprise. "Holy shit! Agatha, how long have you been standing there!?"

She chuckled nervously, avoiding his gaze shyly. "I uh, actually just arrived?" Well, at least she tried to sound more convincing. If Kubo knows anything Agatha is good at, lying won't be one of them.

Instead of getting mad, he asked her a question instead. "H-how much did you hear, exactly?"

"Not a whole lot, but what were you doing?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow, looking over at the Tamaya behind him.

"Oh, that... It's an altar that our family has, we use these kind of altars to speak with our loved ones," he explained with a shy smile, as he watched Agatha walk slowly towards the said altar. 

"Like your mom and dad?" She asked again, as he nodded in response. "Well yeah, but I don't actually know if they're here like legit."

As Kubo watched her inspect the traditional altar in curiosity, suddenly her eyes had halted, staring beside the altar. 

He first thought that she saw some small insect on the flowers or a small crack on the wood, but she has been staring at it for too long that it disturbed him. 

Is she seeing something? "Hey, is everything okay?" Kubo asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder to snap her out of her daze, as Agatha shook her head and looked at him with a shy smile.

"Yeah, yeah," Agatha answered, but she still kept glancing at that same area she stared at for more than a minute.

Her eyes then landed on the pictures on the Tamaya, making her raise an eyebrow. "Are they your mother and father?" Agatha asked him carefully, as he nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah." And then, her eyes landed beside the Tamaya once again, making his brows knit in concern.

"Aggie, are you sure that you're fine?" He asks her again, as he heard her sigh in defeat, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Small quick confession to you, but you probably already know about the weird thing where Norman can see ghosts..." Agatha trailed off, still looking at something beside the Tamaya.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well that's why we're cousins you big dork, I have that gift too." And she can clearly see his parents standing beside the Tamaya, smiling brightly at their son.

"No shit, Sherlock," he turned his body to face the Tamaya once again, only this time, he looked at the spot she was looking at, covering his mouth to prevent himself from sobbing out loud.

"I'm serious Kubo, about your parents... they're right here, with us," Agatha said carefully, smiling at whoever it is beside the Tamaya.

She doesn't know if it's just her, or she finds the sound of his gasp really adorable, at the same time heartwarming for some reason.

But that shocked face of his is just priceless. "No. Way. Do they look like the ones on the picture?"

"Yes. Way," Agatha nodded to him with a small smile, and she even had the courage to wave at them. 

He can't even believe all of this is real himself. "Are they, are they saying something to me, or are they just here watching us?" Kubo asked her carefully, taking a step nearer besides the Tamaya.

Agatha watched the three people for a while, as Kubo looked at her, waiting for her response. 

After a short while she smiled at him, as she witnessed his mother and father placing a hand on his shoulder tenderly while smiling down at him, before turning their heads towards her with the same smiles on their faces.

"They're not really saying anything, but I can feel that they really do love you so much Kubo, you're lucky to have parents watching over you like that."

Kubo can't help but breathe out joyfully, as he suddenly walked towards Agatha and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a big hug.

She smiled to herself, returning the hug to him. "Hey, you band boy, it's okay."

He shook his head, releasing her from his hold as he chuckled awkwardly at her. "Sorry, it's just that I've never had any confirmation that my parents are here with me all along, not until you came and saw them."

The two of them just smiled at each other for a moment, before Kubo turned his head to look beside the Tamaya. "Thank you very much, mother and father."

Agatha's heart swelled as she smiled while watching him and this entire sequence happen right before her eyes. 

Despite everything that had happened to Kubo, he still managed to live through all of the tragedies of his past and move forward. To her, that's one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen in her life.

He had truly shone brightly, even though he went through many times of darkness. 

And when Kubo turned his head to look at her, his smile was more powerful than anything in his dark past. 

She's proud of knowing who he is, and some part of her wishes that he's thinking the same way about her.

Agatha can't help but laugh at his face, as she shook her head at him. "Okay, as much as I don't want to interrupt this moment, but if we want to review for this math quiz for the last time, we have to get going."

"Well then, lead the way Aggie."

• • •

It was finally the lunch break before Kubo takes a handful of make up quizzes along with the upcoming quiz, as he excused himself from his usual band practice for today in preparation for it.

Of course, he can't do all of this reviewing without Agatha, truly. If he manages to pass his 3 make up quizzes and this upcoming quiz, it was all thanks to Agatha.

After solving the last question that Agatha gave him, she checked his solution, running her pen against his scratch sheet, making him look at her nervously.

When Agatha looked at him with a bright smile, Kubo grinned back at her, punching his fist up in the air as she laughed.

"Yes! Finally got the hang of this solving thing," he cheered to himself, as she smiled at him proudly.

"I'm proud of you band boy, you're doing great!" Agatha commended, handing the scratch paper back to him as they grinned at one another.

Their small moment ended when the bell finally rang, giving them the sign that it was finally time.

After months, weeks, and days of preparing for this big day, Kubo offered his hand to her in which she accepted, helping her up off the ground.

"I promise you, I won't let you down, Aggs." The determination radiating from him is enough to make her smile at him.

"You can do this Kubo, I believe in you." And those words of hers would forever ring inside his head, even if the quiz had already ended.

• • •

"OOOOOHHHHHH YEEESSS!!"

"WHOOOHOOOO!!!" 

Agatha's peaceful silence was interrupted by someone shouting from the distance, and given what should've happened today, she can already tell who it was.

"AGGS, I PASSED ALL THE MAKE UP QUIZZES BABY!!!" Kubo cheered with a huge grin on his face, holding all of his test papers on one hand up in the air in triumph, making Agatha laugh at him with a wide smile.

"Looks like someone isn't going to transfer to another school this time," Agatha teased with a smirk, as Kubo sticked his tongue out with a playful frown, making her laugh at him.

They continued to smile at each other as he sat next to her under the tree where she used to review him countless of times this past month.

"Thank you Aggs, for everything," Kubo told her with a huge smile on his face, as she shook her head lightly. "Hey, that was nothing."

"No, it's not nothing," Kubo argued, crossing his arms on his chest. "You just single handedly saved my ass from being kicked out of school because of Math, and thank you so much for that."

Given what Agatha heard last time when she visited Kubo's house from last week, that statement couldn't have been sweeter and she can't help but smile at him for that.

She stared at his eye for a moment, before tilting her head slightly to the side, raising her eyebrow at him just to see his cutely confused face.

"What?"

"Um, I know you're fluent with your Japanese, mind teaching me a few words?"

Now that was something he never expected her to ask, making him knit his eyebrows in confusion. Is she up to something, or is he just over thinking everything?

"Please?" Agatha asked him with that cute frown on her face, and how can he ever say no to that adorable face of hers? He chuckled at her, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Um, sure," Kubo answered, making Agatha smile widely at her. He'd give anything to see that smile every day. 

"Okay yay," she cheered lightly, making him chuckle.

This is the first time that she asked him to teach her something, so for Kubo, seeing her learn things from him is very interesting to watch.

"Well, for starters, what's the Japanese term for 'you'?" She asked him.

"Um, in Japanese that means 'kimi'," he answered, making her nod her head as her eyes widened.

"Ooh, okay okay. What about 'who do you like'?" Agatha asked him again, making his heart beat faster at her sudden question.

It's not like it's even a question to begin with, she's just asking him to translate what she said. This whole sequence is driving him crazy.

Kubo stared at her silently for a moment, before translating her statement warily. "Anata wa dare ga sukidesuka?"

"Kimi."

He had to cover his grin with his hand, as his eye widened in shock, shaking his head lightly, but Agatha only smiled brightly at him. 

"Wh-what? You're joking, right?" 

"If I told you that I was joking, would you believe me?" She asked him, giving him a small frown as Kubo pouted at her, looking at the side for effect.

"I mean, yeah I would," Kubo answered shyly, bringing up a hand behind his neck as he avoided her gaze.

Agatha scooted closer to him, placing her hands lightly on both of his shoulders, making Kubo freeze at her sudden movements as they stared at each other endlessly.

And then, she pouted cutely, making him smile lightly. "Then, you have to stop believing on something that's not true," she told him softly, making him knit his eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Because I'm not joking Kubo, I really do like you." And before he can say anything else to that, Agatha leaned closer to him, kissing Kubo quickly on his cheek, making him blush bright red.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, so this is all official then?" Kubo asked her quickly, gently holding the both of her arms as he looked at her thoroughly to make sure she's not playing a prank on him.

But the way Agatha looked at him made him feel so warm and fuzzy inside, and with that alone, he can tell that she's serious. Real serious. She smiled at him, making his heart skip a few beats.

Agatha being adorable around him is going to be the death of him one day.

"Um... can I get a hug then? For confirmation?" He asked her with a playful tone on his voice, making Agatha laugh at him as she wasted no time and wrapped her arms around him carefully, until she sighed heavily, hiding her wide smile in the crook of his neck.

Kubo smiled widely, as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head gently as he sighed in contentment. 

• • •

Five months had passed since then, and their friends can't help but notice the sweet gestures they had shared with each other, until they're just forced to tell them all about it.

"I knew there was something fishy going on between you two!" Winnie teased them, as they all laughed lightly.

"I totally agree with you sis, I started suspecting something weird when Kubo and Agatha started to hang out more often after the band's practice," Coraline added, as Agatha shook her head with a small smile.

"Well, it was about time since Norman accidentally played matchmaker when he set you both up for the teaching sessions," Eggs teased, making everyone laugh as Norman threw a piece of paper at Eggs with a frown on his face. 

"Hmph, I'm still going to watch the two of you, especially you Kubo," Norman threatened while pointing two fingers at his eyes before pointing it to Kubo, as everyone "ooh"ed at him silently.

"I have been warned, brother," Kubo said, raising both of his hands with a shrug as he nodded at Norman with a smile. 

"And besides, it's our fifth monthsary today, so get off the hook for today grumpy pants," Agatha added with a soft glare, as Norman rolled his eyes, making everyone laugh at him once again.

"Don't worry bro, it's not like Kubo would do anything to hurt Aggs, right?" Wybie asked out loud, before Coraline elbowed him on his side because of his sudden question. 

Kubo nodded to them, smiling brightly at his friends. "You all have my word."

• • •

Kubo and Agatha arrived at Kubo's house later on, as they entered the house laughing out loud like two idiots. 

They had came back from their small trip around the city, went various different food stalls and went to amusement parks for the fun of the rides, and boy did they enjoy their day so far.

"Jimminy Cricket Kubo, remind me to not go in with you inside any Haunted Houses ever again," Agatha teased him with a small laugh, as Kubo loosely wrapped one arm around her with a chuckle. 

"I swear Aggs, the white lady back there looks just like you," he teased back, as she bumped his shoulder lightly in response, making them laugh once again.

As soon as they had entered the house, they both sat down on the sofa in front of the huge flat screen TV. 

"You're enjoying the day so far?" Kubo asked her, resting his cheek on top of her head as she leaned against his shoulder, making her smile.

"No shit Sherlock, of course I am," Agatha told him, tilting her head before kissing him quickly on his cheek. "Though I'm really tired, because I have to babysit you everywhere."

"Hey!" Kubo retorted, making her laugh slightly, and even though she's not looking at him, she can tell that he has a cute angry face right now. 

"Hmm, maybe we can watch a movie before I go home," Agatha offered, making him nod in agreement.

"That sounds like fun, but I'm feeling like we're forgetting something..." Kubo trailed off, looking up to the ceiling to recall.

"Oh shoot the presents!" Now that made Agatha pull away from him, as Kubo slapped his forehead with a small groan. 

"Oh riiiiight, well it's a good thing I actually left my present for you here," Kubo said, rubbing the back of his neck, chuckling shyly as Agatha glared at him with crossed arms.

He cleared his throat, gulping down the knot before laughing nervously at her. 

"I... should get you your present. Be right back in a minute!" And before she can even react, Kubo had kissed her on her cheek before running off to wherever he kept that gift for her.

Agatha shook her head, rolling her eyes as she chuckled silently at him with a small smile. 

After about a few seconds, she can hear running coming from the stairs, and not a minute later Kubo came down with a small box on his hand.

"Finally found it after digging around all over my messy room," he cheered, showing her the small box. 

When he noticed her glare at the mention of his room, he frowned cutely at her because that always works for her. "I swear, I'll clean it later."

"You should," Agatha scolded, as Kubo made his way beside her on the sofa, giving her the box he has. 

"I guess this is for you then," Kubo said with a small smile, as Agatha began to unwrap the bow that was sealing the lid of the small box. 

When she finally had the bow off, Agatha slowly opened the small box, as Kubo waited patiently for her. As soon as she saw what's inside it, she immediately gasped.

"Kubo, oh my god..." The box had a very simple bracelet inside, with a black moon in the middle of the small chain, as stars decorated around the bracelet itself.

"When and where did you buy this?" Agatha asked him with a small gasp, covering her mouth with her right hand as Kubo did the honors of placing the bracelet delicately on her left wrist.

"I didn't... it was my mothers," he answered simply with a small shrug, before holding her left hand in his as he looked at her with a smile.

"This is so beautiful," Agatha said with a smile, holding his hand with hers upward, so she can see the designs on the bracelet. "Thank you."

Kubo brought her hand closer to him, before kissing it gently. "You're welcome."

"Oh right! My turn," Agatha said with a small chuckle, letting go of his hand, making him raise an eyebrow.

She scooted closer to him, cupping his face in her hands softly as he looked her with knitted eyebrows and a cute frown. "What are you doing?"

Agatha never spoke anything and just looked at him softly, as her hands travelled behind his hair, trying to feel the thread that held his eye patch. 

As soon as she felt a knot of thread through his hair, she carefully untied the knot, making his breathing hitch every time she felt her fingers moving.

None of them spoke a word, and after a long while Agatha finally managed to untie the knot of his eye patch. 

She carefully removed the eye patch from his face and placed it beside her, as Kubo breathed in heavily, not breaking eye contact with her.

Agatha had to cover her mouth as soon as she saw his covered eye, while her hand lingered at the right side of his face.

"Oh god..."

"It looks bad, doesn't it?" Kubo asked her with a sad smile on his face, as Agatha caressed his covered eye carefully with her thumb, a tear running down her cheek.

"Aggs..."

She quickly wiped her tear away before he can say anything, as she reached for her pocket, trying to grab her gift for him.

When she felt a piece of cloth inside her pocket, she immediately grabbed it and tried to drag it on his left side since he can't see anything from that side.

Kubo raised an eyebrow at her actions, but as soon as he felt a soft cloth that covered his left eye, he smiled. "It's a new eye patch, isn't it?"

"Not just a new eye patch," Agatha corrected him as soon as she fixed his new eye patch tightly on his head, before placing a soft kiss on his forehead.

She smiled sweetly at him, before grabbing his phone inside his pocket, then faced the screen towards him to serve as his mirror.

And Kubo had the most amazing shocked face she's ever seen him, as he held his phone to look at his reflection.

"I've read somewhere in Japanese culture, that if something gets broken, let's say a glass bowl or a table, people would fix it with gold, so that would mean that those cracks are what made them what they are today," Agatha stated, giving him a soft smile as she admired his reaction to her gift.

"I figured if I can get you a golden colored eye patch for your eye, it would mean the same to you," she added, as Kubo lifted his head to look at her, and he gave her the most vibrant smile he has given her today.

Looking at him now, Agatha thinks that he had truly shone brightly in front of her. And he looks so beautiful that it made her heart melt just looking at him.

And this is the first time she ever saw Kubo shed a tear on something she did for him, moving towards her before wrapping his arms around her carefully, burying his face on the crook of her neck.

Agatha can't help but smile widely as she hugged him back, placing a kiss on top of his head. 

"What did I even do to deserve you? Thank you so much Agatha," he whispered softly before bringing up his head to kiss her on her cheek, making her sigh. 

"Watashi wa, anata o aishiteimasu, oh holy crap I wish I said that right," Agatha whispered back with a small chuckle, as Kubo laughed along with her. 

He caressed her cheek softly, before giving Agatha a sweet smile. "Don't worry Aggie, I love you too."


End file.
